AYC SPRING SERIES CLOSES WITH DOZEN RACES

 

(Rye, New York)- The second half of the 2021 American Yacht Club Spring Regatta held on April 30 – May 2 had over 50 boats entered in the One Design, PHRF, and ORC classes to compete off Rye, NY on Long Island Sound. The AYC Race Committee was able to complete races for the Short Course ORC and J/44 classes, and one distance race for the Coastal Racing course, which included PHRF, Doublehanded, and Mixed Doublehanded classes.

The weekend began with a gale warning holding teams shoreside Friday. The wind subsided Saturday afternoon to a more manageable 15-18 knots across the Long Island Sound allowing just enough time for three races. Sunday started off light and shifty with the rain looming over the New York City skyline, before giving way to sunshine and a little more pressure for three more races rounding out the series.

Continuing where they had started on the first weekend of racing, Bill Ketcham's MAXINE sailed a very consistent series to win the J/44 one-design class with 17 pts after eleven races, counting all podium finishes. Frequently giving them a run-for-the-money was Don & Dick Rave's RESOLUTE, finishing just three points back to take the silver. Rounding out the podium was Tom Blackwell's BREAKAWAY with a total of 29 pts.


Winning the J/105 one-design class was Paul Beaudin's LOU LOU, winning seven races enroute to a somewhat dominating win in the highly competitive class with 18 pts total. Second was Dave Willis' SOLUTION, counting nine podium finishes for a total of 25 pts. Taking the bronze in his first known podium finish in the J/105 class was Greth Lester's ECHO, showing flashes of brilliance, like winning the first race, but getting "unglued" and inconsistent in other races to fall behind the leaders. 

The J/88 one-design class was a tale of two weekends and two protagonists "flip-flopping" their roles in the fleet. On the first weekend, it seemed Iris Vogel's DEVIATION team could do no wrong and was winning by a good margin in the light to moderate conditions and flat water. Then, the second weekend saw a dramatic change in wind/ wave conditions which proved to be the undoing of the DEVIATION crew, but also much to the liking of the dynamic duo of Lawrence Cutler & Andrew Weiss on ONE TOO MANY. After closing with four straight bullets, the ONE TOO MANY boys finished tied with DEVIATION, winning the tie-breaker on countback. Watching the battle unfold from the bleacher seats on both weekends was another fun-loving duo on ALBONDIGAS, Justin Scagnelli & Tim Price, taking home the bronze for their second successive major event of the season. 

The J/70 one-design class saw Jean Marc Papin's PEN SEGAL take the class win with nearly all bullets, followed by Ben Hunt's NO NAME in second, with Gibbons Sinclair's HALF MINE II taking the bronze. 

In the Coastal PHRF Division, it was Steven Levy's J/121 EAGLE that won class with consistent sailing. Just two points back, Robert Schwartz's J/109 NORDLYS took the bronze. In the Coastal ORC Mixed Doublehanded, it was Todd Aven & Barbara Karpinska's J/99 THIN MAN that took the silver!

SPACEMAN SPIFF TWO-PEATS AS J/111 NORTH AMERICAN CHAMPION

 

(Annapolis, MD)- Sailing their 2021 J/111 North American Championship concurrent with the Annapolis NOOD Regatta, the seven teams were truly put to the challenge this past weekend on Chesapeake Bay. 

The first day of the regatta was canceled due to gale-force winds and massive chop. After getting blown off the water the first day, “challenging, puffy conditions” is how SKELETON KEY's skipper Peter Wagner described the second day. “We had to keep our eyes out of the boat and change gears frequently, but it was really good racing.”

With three races in winds that started near 20 knots and faded and shifted through the day, Wagner and his crew on SKELETON KEY, emerged as the top boat, winning the first two races and finishing fourth in the third. The outcome, he says, was better than he expected having not raced the boat since August 2019.


“It’s been a long time,” Wagner says. “We got out to do some boathandling work in San Francisco before we brought the boat here, but no racing, it was just putting ourselves through our paces and making sure the boat was still functional.”

For the day’s first two races, Wagner says, they were able to get off the starting line clean and control their own race, sailing the course as efficiently as possible.

“That was pretty important because things were changing quickly and we had to be able to react to the changes as they happened. In the third race, we ended up on the wrong side of one windshift and the result showed, but that will happen sometimes.

“In that race, you had to be on the right [side of the course]. We got stuck a little too far left and couldn’t quite find a shift to come back. We almost did, but our friends on [Rob Ruhlman’s] Spaceman Spiff faceplanted us at a critical moment, bouncing us back left and sealing our doom. That was a good move by them.”

Wagner says his team did a great job settling into their roles after a long absence and their boathandling and speedwork were as good as could be expected. For tomorrow, the third and final day of racing, Wagner’s goal is to continue sailing well and not worry about the rest of the fleet, which are not far behind on the scoreboard.

“It’s about incremental improvements,” he says, “and for me, I guess the one area to improve getting back in sync with my mainsail trimmer, so we’ll continue to focus on that.”

Stumbling out of the blocks with a 6th place on the first racing day, Rob Ruhlman’s SPACEMAN SPIFF crew regained focus to win two of the six races on Sunday to capture the title by one point over Andrew and Sedgwick Ward’s BRACO with Rod Jabin’s RAMROD a point further back in third. 

Ruhlman was the defending champion from 2019, as the 2020 event was cancelled due to the pandemic. The Ruhlman "family" crew consisted of Mike Case, Martin Kullman, Doug Moose, Abby Ruhlman, Ryan Ruhlman, Maegan Ruhlman and Mark Wiss. 


J/111 Class Director Chris Howell interviewed Rob after the event for perspectives on what it took for his family team to win.

How does it feel? 
Ruhlman: How does it feel? Fantastic! Particularly because of the way it all came together on the last day. Trust me, none of us left the house on Sunday morning with winning even on our mind. This is a really tight, competitive class; top three was our goal. And as always, doing this with my family is incredibly special.

What was the key to the victory?
Ruhlman: From our side, it took perseverance and a belief in ourselves. In all honesty, when our good friends on SKELETON KEY pulled the trigger a bit early at the start of Race 4, that opened the door to the possibility of a step up. This Class is so competitive and the boats so even that one misstep at any point in the race is very difficult to recover from.

What is it you like about the boat and the Class? 
Ruhlman: Our family has grown up in Lightnings (and by “grown up,” I mean since birth), with the exception of my wife Abby, but she may has well have since she was introduced to it at 19 years old. The one-design aspect of it, with the boats as even as they are, and the lack of an “arms race”, is great. Maybe more importantly is the camaraderie. After several years (a lot of these guys know each other from racing all kinds of other big boat classes), I’ve gotten to know a lot of really neat people and look forward to seeing them onshore as much as I do offshore. For me, it’s the Lightning Class of big boats.

What’s next for the team? 
Ruhlman: We’ll likely spend most of the summer in the Great Lakes where the J/111 Class is growing very nicely. There are three boats in Detroit now. We have three 111s in Cleveland already and a fourth on the way with the impending delivery of Jeff Davis’ new 111. It is quite possible we will have six, maybe seven J/111s at both Cleveland Race Week and Put-in-Bay Race Week. Might be time to start a Great Lakes Championship!

We do also have our Lightning North American Championship in Cleveland this summer, which is a qualifier for our Worlds in May of ‘22 and the Lightning Women’s, Junior’s and Master’s Championships are being held at our home (Lightning) club, Pymatuning, where we will all be competing as well as helping conduct the event. After that, it will be back to J/111 World’s prep and then the main event in Hampton, Virginia.

In the end, with SPACEMAN SPIFF winning with a 6-3-2-1-1-4 tally for 17 pts, the Ward's BRAVO posting a 3-6-1-3-4-1 record for 18 pts, and Jabin's RAMROD (top local boat) driving to a 4-2-3-2-3-5 for 19 pts, it's readily apparent that Ruhlman's commentary was prophetic... nothing comes easy in the J/111 class they are so well-sailed and so close in speed and tactics.  Rounding out the top five was Wagner's SKELETON KEY with a 1-1-4-7-5-3 record for 21 pts and Martie Roesch's VELOCITY scoring 2-5-7-4-2-2 for 22 pts, finishing fourth and fifth, respectively. Tough racing, indeed, when the winner has a near "middle of fleet" average of 2.85 and fifth place had a 3.66 average...not much difference!  For more J/111 North American Championship sailing information

EIGHT BELLS- THOMAS J. HARRINGTON

J/Boats and the New York Yacht Club are saddened with the passing of Commodore Thomas J. Harrington on April 27th. From 2013 through 2014, Commodore Harrington served as NYYC's 63rd Commodore. He was 81 years old.

“Commodore Harrington brought great energy and passion to the concept of bringing the Club to members outside of our physical clubhouses," says current Commodore Christopher J. Culver. "His vision has become fully realized during this pandemic.”

Harrington joined the Club in 1991. His passion for sailing had started years earlier, while an officer with the U.S. Marine Corps, and developed as he pursued an MBA at Columbia Business School in New York City. He moved to London after graduating, working for Chemical Bank, and purchased half-ownership in a Soling, which he raced on the Solent. Upon his return to North America, he dove into larger yachts, racing in the Caribbean and then in New England and the Mid Atlantic aboard his J/30 and J/35, both named Obstreperous.

He fostered a loyal crew and enjoyed success in both classes. In September of 1995, sailing with largely the same team, Harrington won the J/30 North American Championship and the J/35 National Championship on consecutive weekends. Commodore Harrington also knew the importance of giving back to the sport, and he served in leadership positions for one-design classes and chaired a North American championship.

After moving on from one-design racing, Commodore Harrington twice raced her to Bermuda. He was also part of a consortium of Club members who formed the Black Watch Alliance and purchased the 68-foot 1938 Olin Stephens-designed Black Watch (formerly Edlu II). The boat served on submarine patrols off Eastern Long Island during the Second World War.

Commodore Harrington enjoyed a long career at Chemical Bank, including as president of its International Leasing subsidiary. After leaving Chemical Bank, he founded Spectrum Capital, Ltd., serving as president and CEO. He is survived by his wife Alane and their sons Jamison and Tucker.

THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT!

SAIL magazine's Lydia Mullan recently wrote an article about America's community sailing centers that are ushering in a new generation of sailors. In most cases, those community sailing centers are making use of inexpensive, easy-to-sail, fun, easy-to-maintain J/22s, J/24s, and J/80s.  Here is the introduction to the story:

"I'm sitting in a yacht club, having dinner with three other members of my crew, all of them men 40 years my senior. They're lamenting the tragic state of sailing. "Look around us:' one of them says, gesturing to the other patrons. "Where are the young people?" Another turns to me, "Why don't people your age sail anymore?" I didn't know it then, but it's a question that I would be asked again and again over the next few years. 

Today, America's yacht clubs, and sailing in general, appear to be experiencing a population crisis. There are many reasons for this. Sailing's reputation for posh exclusivity has gone out of style. 

There's also the question of cost. Based on 2020 U.S. Census Bureau data, on average Millennials (currently ages 25-35) make 20 percent less than their parents did. Women make even less, and women of color even less than that. Finally, there are the many other roadblocks to sailing: social barriers, informational barriers, geographic barriers. Race, sexuality and socioeconomic status are all factors. 

Fortunately, in recent years a solution has quietly begun to take shape in towns and cities across America in the form of a growing number of community sailing centers. 

Currently, US Sailing recognizes about 50 accredited centers. There's no single definition of a community sailing center, but a qualifying factor is that each center owns boats available for use by its members or the general public. This shifts the startup cost away from individuals and lowers the barrier for entry. 

Today's sailing centers often have an outreach and education curriculum, but there are as many different ways to organize these as there are sailing centers. The appeal of this system is obvious. If you can't afford a boat, no problem. You want to sail but don't know anything about boat maintenance? That's fine. Same thing if you have no place to store a boat, need a few lessons to gain confidence or don't have any sailing friends. The list goes on and on. The model works especially for young people. It's no exaggeration to say today's sailing centers are welcoming a whole new generation of sailors from communities that would likely never have otherwise been able to get out on the water. 

Hudson River Community Sailing (HRCS) in New York (located at Hudson Yards) serves as an excellent example of a program going above and beyond in its efforts to expand water access in its community. Like many community centers, HRCS is young- founded less than 15 years ago by Bill Bahen with four donated Rainbows. Today, the center has many programs, including adult sailing and an adaptive sailing program for veterans utilizing a large fleet of J/24s and J/80s. However, its shining star is a youth program run in conjunction with the New York City school system. Every year, about 200 middle and high schoolers from all five boroughs take part. In addition to learning how to sail, students build boats, and learn about weather, marine sciences, and conservation. And while students receive course credit for these efforts, HRCS takes most pride in teaching life skills like communication and problem solving. 


"I am fond of saying, 'Don't teach sailing, use sailing as a venue to teach other amazing things,"' says HRCS's community sailing director Don Rotzien. "Sailing creates stronger communicators, better leaders, better problem solvers, better neighbors... The benefits go far beyond time on the water. If you can figure out how to sail safely and effectively, you can apply that kind of problem solving to every day you're at work or interacting with people." 

Though the focus is on teaching sailing to develop life skills rather than to create life-long sailors, graduates often find their passion in the program, with alums going on to careers sailing tall ships or working in marine sciences. Some even return to work with HRCS. 

Despite the success of these programs, growing the sport of sailing is no walk in the park. These kinds of organizations face a host of different challenge with little precedent for how to navigate many of them. 

"Every community sailing center has to operate with a startup mindset," says Rotzien, who is also a member of US Sailing's Community Sailing Center Committee. He jokes they're gluttons for punishment, because they're constantly seeking new barriers to whittle away in order to get everyone access. It's a super-human amount of work— partnering with schools, writing grants, doing outreach to under-represented communities, getting waterfront property access, maintaining the fleet of boats, troubleshooting retention issues. 

"We have to fight to get people who don't see themselves in the sport in the door," Rotzien says. 

What follows are just a few of the many great programs out there working to raise the next generation of sailors- click here to view or download the PDF of SAIL's The Kids are Alright! article.Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Edlu Distance Race Preview

  

(Larchmont, NY)- The classic spring opener for offshore races has been Larchmont Yacht Club's annual Edlu Distance Race. For many sailors, it provides the incentive to clear off the cobwebs accumulated from over a year of not sailing, make sure the winches and blocks spin properly, the wheel/ rudder bearings didn't lock up, and sails actually go up and down. Having been starved of going down to sea and dreaming about it for over a year, there must be more than a few sailors that recall that yearning in John Masefield's famous poem- SEA FEVER:

"I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by,
And the wheel's kick and the wind's song and the white sail's shaking,
And a grey mist on the sea's face, and a gray dawn breaking....."

With one of the best turnouts in years, the sixty-boat fleet will be looking forward to one of two courses the Larchmont YC Race Committee can select: Course #1 – from the start around Eaton’s Neck Point Lighted Gong Buoy and return for about 32.0nm or Course #2 – from the start around Twenty-Six Foot Spot Lighted Bell Buoy mid-sound off Lloyd’s Neck and return for about 18.0nm. 

Looking forward to this offshore "sprint" are twenty-four J/Teams (40.0% of the fleet!). Sailing in the eleven-boat ORC Division is Steven Levy's J/121 EAGLE, John Greifzu's J/109 GROWTH SPURT, Bill Ingraham's J/124 TENEBRAE, and Len Sitar's big blue J/160 COUGAR. 

In the PHRF Doublehanded divisions is Josh Burack's J/105 PEREGRINA and Glenn Marck's J/109 WATERDOG.  In the 28-boat PHRF Spinnaker division are two J/111s (Ken Luczynski's USMMA team on BLACK DIAMOND and Bill & Jackie Baxter's FIREBALL), Cory Eaves' J/109 FREEDOM, Arthur Hanlon's J/112E DAUNTLESS, Chuck Taus' J/33 SIRIUS, Kurt Locher's J/42 ATALANTA, Neeko Helbich's USMMA team on the J/44 VAMP, Jason Viseltear's J/80 UPSETTER, and Jim Weil & EJ Haskell's J/92 VIXEN.  In PHRF Plus-One division is Ron Richman's J/133 ANTIDOTE and Richie Palmer's J/105 TOLO. PHRF Non-spinnaker class has Erick Blanc's J/112E REBELLE.

Finally, the J/88s are sailing as a one-design class with six teams ready to do battle for 32 miles straight! The usual suspects may be at the top of the leaderboard; such as Justin Scagnelli & Tim Price's ALBONDIGAS, Iris Vogel's DEVIATION, Larry Cutler & Andrew Weiss' ONE TOO MANY, and Kevin Marks' VELOCITY.  For more Edlu Distance Race sailing information

J/105 BLINDINGLY FAST @ ST MAARTEN FINALE

(Simpson Bay, St. Maarten)- The traditional end-of-the-season regatta for the winter Caribbean circuit for St Maarten sailors is the St Maarten Yacht Club's Simpson Bay to Friar's Bay Race and return. 


Virtually all the major players in the St Maarten sailing community attended their grand finale and super-fun race.  In the end, it was Jordan Mindich's J/105 SOLSTICE that "blinded the fleet with science and brilliance", taking overall honors over two very fast, hard-charging Melges 24s and a J/70 (all of whom have won many regattas). This time, Garth Steyn's J/70 IGY RACING could not overcome his good buddies on the M24s to have to settle for fourth place by one point.Add to Flipboard Magazine.

SPRING SPRANG ON LONG ISLAND SOUND

(Rye, New York)- The first weekend of the 2021 American Yacht Club Spring Regatta on April 24-25 had over 50 boats entered in the One Design, PHRF, and ORC classes to compete in Rye, NY.

Racing began with a light, variable wind on day one, but the breeze built significantly as the day progressed. The Race Committee was able to complete four races for the Short Course ORC and J/44 classes, and one distance race for the Coastal Racing course, which included PHRF, Doublehanded, and Mixed Doublehanded classes.

Day two began with a wet and chilly morning, but the rain tapered off just in time for the start of the first race. The day proved to be somewhat more challenging for everyone, with 50-degree wind shifts combined with dramatic changes in wind velocity and direction.

All the races were conducted by Principal Race Officers John (“Tinker”) Myles on the East Course, and Commodore Nicholas Everett on the South Course, along with their respective Race Committee teams.

Amongst the five-boat J/44 class, it was past New York Yacht Club Commodore Bill Ketcham's familiar navy-blue MAXINE that leads the series by just one point with finishes of 3-1-4-1-1-3 for 9 pts. Just behind them is Don & Dick Rave's RESOLUTE with a 1-3-2-2-2-4 tally for 10 pts. Lying third is Tom Blackwell's BREAKAWAY with a 2-4-1-4-3-1 record for 14 pts. 

The PHRF Coastal Division saw a near clean sweep of the top ten by J/Crews. Sweeping the podium were Cory Eaves' J/109 FREEDOM in first, Bob Schwartz's J/109 NORDLYS in second, and Steve Levy's J/121 EAGLE in third!  Finishing fifth was Jim Weil & EJ Haskell's J/92 VIXEN, and seventh was Jason Viseltear's J/80 UPSETTER.

The J/88 one-design class saw Iris Vogel's DEVIATION press the pedal-to-the-metal and firewall it all the way around the race track, winning the first three races on Saturday and completing the weekend on Sunday with a 2-3-1 for 6 pts net! Behind her it was a full-on duel between Larry Cutler & Andrew Weiss' ONE TOO MANY and Justin Scagnelli & Tim Price's ALBONDIGAS. Just one point separates the two after six races. 

The always-competitive J/105 class of seven boats saw tight racing amongst the top three boats. Currently leading by two points is Paul Beaudin's LOU LOU, followed by David Willis' SOLUTION in second, and just two points further back is Gareth Lester's ECHO. 

In the J/70 one-design class, it's Jean Marc Papin's PEN SEGAL leading after winning five races, with Ben Hunt's NO NAME in second with 10 pts and Gibbons Sinclair's HALF MINE II in third place. Add to Flipboard Magazine.

GORGEOUS, WELL-EQUIPPED J/37 CRUISER-RACER FOR SALE

 

CARINA had a spectacular racing career; she's fully equipped and ready-to-go on its next adventure. The performance of the J/37 on the race course is only half of the story with CARINA. She also can be a great cruiser with comfortable accommodations and equipment to cruise the coast of Maine or head south for the winter. 

Did we mention the Beer-can racing possibilities and bragging rights? Finally, she's not too big to sail shorthanded if you just want to use her for day sailing. The perfect mix with J/Boat performance and Comfort features for the cruiser. Check out the full details and call us at Northpoint Yacht Sales

J/70S AND WOMEN J/80 TEAMS INVITED TO COPA DEL REY MAPFRE!

(Copa del Rey, Spain)- The 39th Copa del Rey MAPFRE, organized by the Real Club Náutico de Palma (RCNP), will be held from 31st July to the 7th of August, 2021. Racing will take place on the Bay of Palma in front of the historic and incredibly picturesque waterfront of the city of Palma on the island of Mallorca. 


For the first time the European J/70 class is invited to participate as well as women's team to sail on supplied J/80s from the local Palma J/80 fleet. Sailing in Palma for most sailors ranks as a "bucket list" event, such is the notoriety of the region for fun in the Mediterranean sun!

Generally, the regatta is nothing short of spectacular. For four straight days, the competitors can expect clear blue skies in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea with the noon-time sea breezes building from the southwest into the 8 to 15 kts range...at least that's what the local chamber of commerce claims on their brochure! No question, that part of the Med is famous for its remarkable weather in August and is a reason why Palma is notoriously famous amongst the world's "glitterati", with numerous famous super yachts often parked inside the marinas.  Treat yourself to an amazing experience. Click here and learn more about the Copa del Rey MAPFRE.Add to Flipboard Magazine.

J/24's CELEBRATE MEXICAN NAVY's 200TH ANNIVERSARY!

(Acapulco, Mexico)- In commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the foundation of the Mexican Navy, there was a gala yachting event held in Acapulco, Mexico for this important milestone. 

The Mexican Navy personnel helped transport many of the J/24's from the lake at Valle de Bravo (2 hours west of Mexico City a mile high in the mountains) to Acapulco's harbor at no cost! The Acapulco Yacht Club hosted the event in which a fleet of ninety-six boats participated from different classes.


Sixteen J/24s took advantage of this opportunity to sail the beautiful calm waters of Acapulco Bay from April 20th to the 22nd. The teams enjoyed absolutely amazing sailing conditions all three days. 

There were many social events practicing safe distancing and all the safety requirements for COVID 19, but this did not deter a great week of sailing and much fun for everyone involved!

"We had so much fun that we are seriously considering making this an annual event where all our friends from around the world will be welcome! We hope to see you soon in warm sunny Acapulco Bay," said enthusiastic J/24 owner Leopoldo Farias.Add to Flipboard Magazine.